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All The Training Resources On Chess.com

All The Training Resources On Chess.com

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| 94 | Chess.com Help

Are you looking to get better at chess but are overwhelmed by all of the content out there? Worry no more! Here's a complete guide to all of the training material on Chess.com. 


Play Chess

The most popular feature on Chess.com is playing chess. Members play about 17 million games per day on the site. However, there are several ways to play, and you want to find the types that are right for you.

  1. Live Games: Chess.com/play/online is the place to play live chess games against anyone in the world. You'll want to figure out what time controls you're interested in and what level of opponents you want to play. This guide will help you prepare the best settings for you. If you want to improve your game, playing with 10 minutes per side, the most popular time control on the site, is a great way to start!
  2. Play vs. Bots: If you don't want to challenge a human opponent, playing with the many bots on the site is a great alternative. You can find bots of any level to compete against, and many will engage you with fun banter along the way.
Are you brave enough to take on the Hikaru bot?
  1. Daily Games: Daily games are a great option if you want extra time to figure out your moves. You can play as many as you want at any given time and ponder your move for hours, or even days, before responding.
  2. Tournaments: Tournaments are one way to challenge yourself in a competitive environment. In addition to standard events with any time control, you can also find themed tournaments, where games all start with a specific opening. These are great ways to practice both sides of your favorite lines.

Puzzles

Outside of playing, puzzles are the next most popular way that people interested in improvement spend time on chess.

How chess improvers spend their time.

Like with games, there are several ways that you can aim to get the most out of your puzzle time.

  1. Rated Puzzles: This is the most popular type of puzzle. You'll get a variety of challenges, and the level will vary to match your ability.
  2. Custom Puzzles: Custom Puzzles are the same format as normal puzzles, but you can specify which sorts of tactics you want to train.
  3. Puzzle Rush: If you want to really test your solving speed. Puzzle Rush and Puzzle Battle are the most fun ways to train for speed and accuracy. Puzzle Rush is an individual tactics practice, while Puzzle Battle makes it a competition. There's also Puzzle Rush Survival Mode, which is the opposite experience. You have unlimited time and focus on being as accurate as possible.

Lessons, Videos And Courses

If you're looking to learn from some of the world's best chess instructors, then lessons, videos, and courses are the way to go.

  • Lessons and Videos: Watch educational content from some of your favorite instructors. The lessons include challenges to check for understanding, while the videos are all about the viewing experience.
Take a lesson from Magnus Carlsen!

Analysis, Game Review, And Data

After you have played a game, it's helpful to learn from it.

  • Analysis: In analysis mode, you can get immediate engine analysis of every move and recommendations for improvements.
  • Game Review: In Game Review, each move is evaluated from brilliant to blunder, and you can have opportunities to test yourself and find improvements in your play.
Game Review is one of the most popular features on Chess.com.
  • Library: If you've played a game and want to save it to look at later, you can create a library. Keep them private for personal use, or share them with the world.
  • Insights: Check out insights for a breakdown of stats on your game history. Check out how many games you've played, your average accuracy, types of games played, performance, opening trends, and more.
  • Aimchess Training: If you want more helpful training information, check out Aimchess, which breaks down trends in your play and guidance on what to work on. 

Openings

Learning openings is one of the most popular ways to study chess.

  • Opening Videos: Lessons and Chessable are full of opening content. If you want to find new openings to play, you won't want to miss the Learn Every Chess Opening course.
  • Opening Explorer: Explorer can help you find games and statistics for specific opening positions.
  • Practice Openings: Here, you can play out positions in the most popular openings against an engine.

More

Here are a few more training features that can help you but don't fit neatly into the categories above.

  • Endgames and Practice: Train against the engine from important positions to know how to handle them.
  • Chess terms: What did that mean? Look up any chess lingo that you're not familiar with.
  • Articles and news: Articles and news cover everything in the world of chess. Learn from recent top-level games, chess history, new trends, and more. 
  •  The Social Side Of Chess: Ask questions in chess forums, find private coaches, read blogs from dedicated authors, or join a club. There are millions of interesting people to meet in the chess world!
There are thousands of amazing chess coaches!
  • Solo Chess: If you don't want to meet anyone, challenge yourself to solo chess and match wits with some of the greatest games ever played.

What do you like to do on Chess.com? Let us know in the comments!

CoachJKane
NM Jeremy Kane

Jeremy Kane is a National Master and three-time Wisconsin state champion. He is the Director of Training Content for Chess.com. He has been teaching chess in person and online for over 15 years and has designed hundreds of lessons, available on chess.com/lessons. He is the author of Starting Out The Trompowsky on Chessable and The Next To Last Mistake, a book on defensive ideas in chess.

He is the developer of the Caro-Kane Variation of the Caro-Kann Defense.

email: jeremy@chess.com

Twitter/X: @chessmensch

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